Sacred Star on track for Railway
Pike admits the enormous break has pros and cons
some advantages. “Because he hasn’t raced for so long, and therefore won anything, he gets in beautifully with 55kg under the set weights and penalties conditions,” says Pike.
“For a horse as good as him who has raced well against some of the best in Australia that is a luxury weight and he has raced very well fresh in the past.” Pike is right. The last time Sacred Star carried less than 55kg in a New Zealand race was when he finished third in the Thorndon Mile nearly four years ago.
But that isn’t the only weight on Pike’s mind heading into Monday.
“He is a horse who is always going to carry a fair bit of weight but his peak racing weight is 548kg and he weighed 552kg this morning, so he is getting pretty close.”
That means Scared Star has shed around 15kg since returning a sparkling gallop between races under Damian Lane at the Ellerslie twilight meeting on December 13.
“He has come to hand really nice since then so we are hoping the weather holds and we can draw somewhere in the middle barriers because he is not really the sort of horse who likes to get locked away down on the fence.” The TAB have Sacred Star $10 before tomorrow’s crucial barrier draw, with regular rider Vinnie Colgan back in the saddle.
Volpe Veloce is the $4.60 favourite for the Railway after her comprehensive last start win and while she may be viewed as a 1400m-1600m mare, she has never been beaten in five 1200m races or at Ellerslie.
Heroic Valour and defending champion Start Wondering share the $6 second line although the latter’s Sprinter of the Year season last term will see him carry 59kg.
While the Sistema Railway looms as the highlight of the massive New